Audio enclosure assembly mounting system and method

ABSTRACT

A vibration-isolating system for mounting a cathode ray tube monitor to an enclosed audio base includes an annular vibration-isolating grommet having an axial bore; a snap cap including an annular portion having a surface for supporting the grommet and an axial aperture, at least two legs extending substantially perpendicularly from the annular portion opposite the surface astride the aperture to distal ends, and a nub extending radially from the distal end of each leg; and an elongated member configured to fit about the legs, through the axial aperture and through the axial bore, and to attach to a cathode ray tube housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to cathode ray tube housings, and moreparticularly to attaching a computer monitor to a speaker-equipped basewhile isolating the monitor from vibrational noise caused by thespeaker.

2. Description of the Background Art.

Designers of early desktop computers avoided developing soundcapabilities of the computers because of their limited memory capacityand processor power. Instead, computers were equipped with low qualitysound equipment such as "tinny" sounding two-inch tweeters.

Present increases in the processing power and memory of computers andthe advent of multi-media techniques have led computer designers toincorporate high fidelity sound equipment into computers, andspecifically into the base portions of computer monitor assemblies.However, speaker vibrations often disturb the operation of computermonitors.

Therefore, a system and method are needed for isolating vibrationalnoise caused by sound equipment in a computer monitor base from themonitor itself without increasing the difficulty of attaching the baseto the monitor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a vibration-isolating system and methodfor mounting a cathode ray tube monitor to an enclosed audio base. Thevibration-isolating system includes an annular vibration-isolatinggrommet having an axial bore; a snap cap including an annular portionhaving a surface for supporting the grommet and an axial aperture, atleast two legs extending substantially perpendicularly from the annularportion opposite the surface astride the aperture to distal ends, and anub extending radially from the distal end of each leg; and an elongatedmember configured to fit about the legs, through the axial aperture andthrough the axial bore, and to attach to a cathode ray tube housing.

The method of the present invention includes the steps of providing anannular grommet having an axial bore; providing a snap cap including anannular portion having a surface for supporting the grommet and an axialaperture, at least two legs extending substantially perpendicularly fromthe annular portion opposite the surface astride the aperture to distalends, and a nub extending radially from the distal end of each leg;inserting an elongated member between the legs, through the aperture,through the axial bore and into the attaching bore; attaching theelongated member to the cathode ray tube housing in the attaching bore;and inserting the two legs into the cylinder until the nub extendingfrom each leg engages the ledge.

The present invention advantageously provides a mechanism for mounting acathode ray tube monitor to an enclosed audio base and for preventingspeaker vibrations from affecting the operation of the monitor.Accordingly, computer designers can increase the performance quality ofthe speakers, and multimedia developers can avail themselves of thisincrease in speaker performance quality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an enclosed audio computermonitor assembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vibration-isolating mountingsystem FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the snap cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the snap cap of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the snap cap of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred method of attaching thecomputer monitor to the stereo-enclosed base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an enclosed audio computermonitor assembly 100 in accordance with the present invention. Computermonitor assembly 100 includes a computer monitor 105, having for examplea cathode ray tube, coupled via a vibration-isolating mounting system120 to an enclosed audio base 110. Enclosed audio base 110 has a width Wand a depth D and may comprise high-fidelity sound equipment includingspeakers 115 for producing high-fidelity stereo sound.

Mounting system 120 connects computer monitor 105 to enclosed audio base110 and isolates monitor 105 from vibrations caused by speakers 115.Mounting system 120 includes preferably four vibration-isolatingsubsystems 125a, 125b, 125c and 125d (125a-125d), two of which (125b and125c) are aligned preferably adjacent the front side of computerassembly 100 at points approximately equal to W/3 from respective sidesand two of which (125a and 125d) are aligned preferably at a depth ofabout D/2 at points also approximately equal to W/3 from the sides.

Each of subsystems 125a-125d includes a respective grommet 130a, 130b,130c and 130d (130a-130d) designed to isolate frequencies inclusive ofthe vibrations caused by music and speech. For example, E.A.R. SpecialtyComposites, a Division of Cabot Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana,manufactures grommets 130a-130d for isolating specific vibrationalfrequencies. The dimensions of, the materials used in and the weightplaced upon each grommet 130a-130d define the frequencies isolated bythe grommets. Accordingly, each grommet 130a-130d is preferably designedto isolate those specific frequencies for weights ranging from theweight of the typically lighter back side of a specific monitor 105 tothe weight of the typically heavier front side of the specific monitor105. Each grommet 130a-130d includes a respective axial bore 145a, 145b,145c or 145d (145a-145d) for receiving a respective screw 140a, 140b,140cor 140d (140a-140d).

Each subsystem 125a-125d further includes a respective snap cap 135a,135b, 135c or 135d (135a-135d) for supporting a respective one ofgrommets 130a-130d and configured to be inserted into and to snap onto arespective cylinder 155a, 155b, 155c or 155d (155a-155d) in base 110.Thus, subsystems 125a-125d are aligned with cylinders 155a-155d. Eachsnap cap 135a-135d includes a respective aperture 150a, 150b, 150c or150d (150a-150d) for receiving a respective one of screws 140a-140d.Snap caps 135a135d are described in more detail with reference to FIGS.2-5.

Each subsystem 125a-125d further includes a respective screw 140a-140d,configured to be inserted through the corresponding aperture 150a-150din the respective snap cap 135a-135d, through the corresponding bore145a-145d in the respective grommet 130a-130d and into a correspondingattaching bore (205, FIG. 2) in monitor 105. Screws 140a-140d aredesigned not to overcompress grommets 130a-130d, and are described inmore detail with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vibration-isolating subsystem 200,of which each subsystem 125a-125d is an instance, for attaching computermonitor 105 to base 110 and for isolating computer monitor 105 fromvibrations caused by sound equipment in base 110.

For each subsystem 200, computer monitor 105 includes an attaching bore205 having at its opening a ledge 260. Each cylinder 155a-155d isrepresented by a cylinder 250 which has a ledge 255 at the base 110 endof the cylinder and is aligned with a respective bore 205.

As stated above with reference to FIG. 1, subsystem 200 includes agrommet 215 designed to isolate specific frequencies and having an axialbore 217, includes a snap cap 220 configured to be inserted into and tosnap onto cylinder 250, and includes a screw 210 for attaching snap cap220 and grommet 215 to monitor 105.

Snap cap 220 includes an annular portion 285 having a surface 225 forsupporting grommet 215 and an axial aperture 245. Snap cap 220 alsoincludes a wall 230 around the periphery of surface 225 for limitinglateral movement of grommet 215 and for aligning axial bore 217 withsnap cap aperture 245. Snap cap 220 also includes legs 235 extendingfrom surface 225 astride aperture 245, and nubs 240 extending radiallyfrom the distal ends of legs 235. Legs 235 are configured to be bendabletowards each other and slid into cylinder 250 until nubs 240 exit theend of cylinder 250. Then, legs 235 snap back to their originalpositions, so that nubs 240 engage ledge 255 and secure snap cap 220 tobase 110.

Screw 210 is preferably a shoulder screw having a head 214, a shoulder212, a threaded portion 213 and an unthreaded portion 280. Head 214preferably does not abut legs 235 so that legs 235 remain free to bendinward. The diameters of shoulder 212 and unthreaded portion 280 are nogreater than the diameters of any of aperture 245, bore 217 or attachingbore 205. When threaded portion 213 is screwed into attaching bore 205,shoulder 212 abuts ledge 260 and thus stops unthreaded portion 280 fromsliding into attaching bore 205. Thus, unthreaded portion 280 ispreferably long enough so that screw 210 does not overcompress grommet215 and snap cap 220 against computer monitor 105.

It will be appreciated that, when mounting system 200 is fully engagedbetween computer monitor 105 and base 110, only a certain fraction ofthe weight of computer monitor 105 (which can be easily computed) restson grommet 215. Compression of grommet 215 and snap cap 220 by screw 210is preferably less than the compression caused by the weight of computermonitor 105. Thus, in operation, the weight of monitor 105 aloneregulates the compression of grommet 215. Accordingly, each instance ofgrommet 215 can be designed effectively to isolate computer monitor 105from vibrations caused by speakers 115. Overcompression occurs whenscrew 210 compresses the grommet 215 against computer monitor 105 morethan compression caused by the weight of computer monitor 105.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating example dimensions of snap cap 220for a 20-inch monitor. Snap cap 220 is about 42.5 millimeters long ofwhich legs 235 are about 24.0 millimeters long. The length of each legis approximately equal to the height H (FIG. 2) of cylinder 250. Eachnub 240 is substantially triangular, about 10.3 millimeters long andabout 8 millimeters wide. Each nub 240 has a shoulder portion 300extending about 2.95 millimeters radially past the outer side of therespective leg 235. Other dimensions include about 9.9 millimetersbetween the inside portion of the tips of diametrically opposed legs235, about 12.5 millimeters between the outside portion of the tips ofdiametrically opposed legs 235, about 19.9 millimeters between the outersides of diametrically opposed legs 235, about 25.8 millimeters betweenthe outer corners of diametrically opposed nubs 240, and about 8.2millimeters between the upper edge of wall 230 and the upper ends oflegs 235. Although FIG. 3 illustrates snap cap 220 as having only twolegs 235, snap cap 220 preferably has four legs 235 centered ninetydegrees apart. Legs 235 may be tapered as shown in FIG. 3 or straight asshown in FIG. 2, so long as legs 235 and nubs 240 are sufficientlyspaced apart to be compressed inward and slid into a cylinder 250.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view taken along line A--A of FIG. 3illustrating other dimensions of snap cap 220. Snap cap 220 surface 225has a diameter of about 23.5 millimeters, a wall 230 height of about 4millimeters, and an aperture 245 width of about 11 millimeters.

FIG. 5 is a top view illustrating that snap cap 220 measures about 27.4millimeters between the outer perimeter of wall 230. FIG. 5 furtherillustrates the preferred disposition in ninety degree increments of thefour legs 235.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred method 600 of mountingcomputer monitor 105 to enclosed base 110. Method 600 begins in step 605by forming attaching bores 205 in the underside of computer monitor 105.For each subsystem 200, in step 610 a vibration-isolating grommet 215 isplaced onto surface 225 of annular portion 285 of snap cap 220. In step615, peripheral wall 230 centers axial 215 and thereby aligns grommetbore 217 with aperture 245 in surface 225 of snap cap 220. In step 620,an elongated shoulder screw 210 is inserted from the underside of snapcap 220, between legs 235, through aperture 245 and through bore 217. Instep 625, the threaded portion 213 of screw 210 is screwed intoattaching bore 205 until screw shoulder 212 abuts ledge 260, therebymaintaining unscrewed portion 280 of screw 210 outside attaching bore205. As stated above, the length of unscrewed portion 280 must besufficiently long so that screw 210 does not compress snap cap 220 andgrommet 215 against computer monitor 105 more than the compressioncaused by the weight of computer monitor 105. In step 630, snap cap legs235 are slid into cylinder 250 of base 110 until legs 235 snap back andnubs 240 engage ledge 255.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the inventionis by way of example only, and variations of the above-describedembodiment and method are provided by the present invention. Forexample, although the mounting system has been described as mounting acomputer monitor to an enclosed audio base, the system of the presentinvention can be used to mount a computer monitor to a base without anaudio enclosure. Further, although the system and method of the presentinvention have been described as isolating vibrations from a computermonitor, the system and method can isolate vibrations from any cathoderay tube or video housing. The embodiment described has been presentedfor the purpose of illustration and is not intended to be exhaustive orlimiting. The invention is limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A snap cap comprising:an annular portion having a surface for supporting a grommet; an annular wall formed about a periphery of the surface for laterally limiting the grommet; an elongated extension extending from the annular portion; an axial aperture formed through the annular portion and the elongated extension for receiving a cathode ray tube housing attaching mechanism and a shoulder formed within the axial aperture for securing the cathode ray tube housing attaching mechanism within the axial aperture.
 2. The snap cap of claim 1 wherein the annular wall is oriented substantially perpendicularly to the surface.
 3. The snap cap of claim 1 wherein the elongated extension includes at least two legs each having a nub extending radially from a distal end of the leg.
 4. The snap cap of claim 3 wherein each nub includes a shoulder portion for snapping onto the base.
 5. The snap cap of claim 1 wherein the elongated extension includes four legs.
 6. The snap cap of claim 5 wherein the four legs are equally spaced apart.
 7. The snap cap of claim 1 wherein the annular portion is substantially perpendicularly oriented relative to the elongated extension.
 8. A snap cap comprising:an annular portion having a surface for supporting a grommet and an axial aperture for receiving a cathode ray tube housing attaching mechanism through a distal end of the snap cap an annular wall formed about a periphery of the surface for laterally limiting the grommet; at least two legs extending substantially perpendicularly from the annular portion opposite the surface astride the aperture to respective ends; a shoulder formed on the legs within the axial aperture for securing the cathode ray tube housing attaching mechanism within the axial aperture; and a nub extending radially from each end.
 9. The snap cap of claim 8 wherein the annular portion surface is substantially perpendicularly oriented to the legs.
 10. The snap cap of claim 8 wherein the at least two legs includes four legs.
 11. The snap cap of claim 10 wherein the four legs are equally spaced apart.
 12. The snap cap of claim 8 wherein each nub includes a shoulder portion for snapping onto the base.
 13. The snap cap of claim 8 further comprising a wall around a periphery of the surface for laterally limiting the grommet.
 14. A vibration-isolating mounting system comprising:a base; a snap cap coupled to the base, the snap cap includingan annular portion having a surface and an axial aperture; at least two legs extending substantially perpendicularly from the annular portion opposite the surface astride the aperture to distal ends; an annular grommet having an axial bore, the grommet positioned on the annular portion surface such that the grommet bore and the annular portion aperture are substantially aligned; and a nub extending radially from the distal end of each leg; a cathode ray tube housing; and an elongated member configured to fit between the legs, through the axial aperture and through the axial bore, and to attach to the cathode ray tube housing.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the at least two legs includes four legs.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein the four legs are equally spaced apart.
 17. The system of claim 14 wherein each nub includes a shoulder portion for snapping onto the base.
 18. The system of claim 14 wherein the snap cap includes a wall around a periphery of the surface for laterally limiting the grommet.
 19. The system of claim 14 wherein the elongated member includes a screw having a threaded portion and an unthreaded portion.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the cathode ray tube housing includes an attaching bore for receiving only the threaded portion.
 21. The system of claim 20 wherein the unthreaded portion is sufficiently long so that, when attached to the cathode ray tube housing, the snap cap and grommet are not overcompressed.
 22. The system of claim 14 wherein the grommet isolates vibrations including those caused by music and speech.
 23. The system of claim 14 wherein each leg is configured to fit into a cylinder in a base.
 24. The system of claim 23 wherein the nub is configured to engage a ledge in the base.
 25. A method for mounting a cathode ray tube housing having an attaching bore to a base having a cylinder which terminates in a ledge, comprising the steps of:a) providing an annular grommet having an axial bore; b) providing a snap cap includingan annular portion having a surface for supporting the grommet and an axial aperture; at least two legs extending substantially perpendicularly from the annular portion opposite the surface astride the aperture to distal ends; and a nub extending radially from the distal end of each leg; c) positioning the annular grommet on the annular portion surface so that the grommet axial bore and the annular portion axial aperture are substantially aligned; d) inserting an elongated member between the legs, through the aperture, through the axial bore and into the attaching bore; e) attaching the elongated member to the cathode ray tube housing in the attaching bore; and f) inserting the two legs into the cylinder until the nub extending from each leg engages the ledge.
 26. The method of claim 25 wherein the at least two legs includes four legs.
 27. The method of claim 25 wherein the four legs are equally spaced apart.
 28. The method of claim 25 wherein each nub includes a shoulder portion for snapping onto the base.
 29. The method of claim 25 wherein the snap cap includes a wall around a periphery of the surface for laterally limiting the grommet.
 30. The method of claim 25 wherein the elongated member includes a screw having a threaded portion and an unthreaded portion.
 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the attaching bore receives only the threaded portion.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the unthreaded portion is sufficiently long so that, when attached to the cathode ray tube housing, the snap cap and grommet are not overcompressed.
 33. The method of claim 25 wherein the grommet isolates vibrations including those caused by music and speech.
 34. The method of claim 25 wherein the nub includes a shoulder portion for engaging the ledge. 